Charles Haughey

Charles Haughey (16 September 1925-13 June 2006) was Taoiseach of Ireland from 11 December 1979 to 30 June 1981 (succeeding Jack Lynch and preceding Garret FitzGerald), from 9 March to 14 December 1982 (interrupting FitzGerald's terms), and from 10 March 1987 to 11 February 1992 (succeeding FitzGerald and preceding Albert Reynolds). He was a member of Fianna Fail.

Biography
Charles Haughey was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland in 1925, and he was raised in Dublin. He studied at University College Dublin and King's Inns before beginning a career as an accountant, and he joined Fianna Fail in 1948 and was elected to the Dail Eireann in 1957. Haughey became Minister for Justice in 1961, and he contested the party leadership in 1966, but withdrew in favor of Jack Lynch, under whom he became Minister for Finance. Haughey was forced to resign on 6 May 1970 after being accused of complicity in smuggling arms for militant nationalists into Ireland, and a trial for this conspiracy found him (along with Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Neil Blaney) not guilty. Haughey was re-elected to the executive of Fianna Fail in 1972. He served as Minister for Health and Social Welfare from 1977 to 1979 and succeeded Lynch as Taoiseach on 11 December 1979. Alternating in power with Garret FitzGerald, he won a convincing victory in 1987. During this government, Ireland increased its involvement in European Community affairs, and several national boards and commissions (such as the Department of the Marine and the Independent Radio and Television Commission) were established. Criticized for his autocratic leadership style and his failure to stop the party's decline in the polls through more energetic leadership, he resigned as party leader and Taoiseach in February 1992.